Socket-wrench



W. BARNES.

SOCKET WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED APR.23, 1918.

1,381,900. Patented June 21, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM BARNES, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO WALDEN W'OIIRBIEBS'IEB, INC, .0]? WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

SOCKET-WRENCH.

specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 21, 1921,

Application filed April 23. 1918.. Serial No. 230,243.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM BARNES, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of -Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Socket-Wrenches, of which the following is a specification.

In the use of socket ratchet wrenches in which a ratchet wrench is adapted to receive and cooperate with any one of a plurality of interchangeable sockets which are designed to fit various sizes and shapes of nuts or bolt heads, it is frequently diflicult if not impossible, to place and maintain the socket upon a nut and operate the ratchet wrench with one hand as is necessary with the conventional socket ratchet wrenches. This difliculty is particularly prevalent where the wrench is used upon overhead work, or when the nut is so closely surrounded by other parts as to necessitate the use of an extension bar upon the socket to reach the nut. When the occasion requires the use of an extension bar the ratchet wrench is applied to the extension bar, and the ratchet wrench is so far spaced from the socket and nut that the extension bar wabbles and otherwise hinders the proper operation of the wrench.

The present invention aims to overcome the above mentioned diificulties and without modification of the conventional wrenches of the character described, one object of the invention being to provide a swivel handle adapted to be attached to a socket or an extension bar and designed to be grasped in one hand of the operator, whereby the socket or extension bar can be steadied and the socket maintained upon the nut by one hand of the operator, while the other hand is free to operate the ratchet wrench.

, Another object ofthe invention is to provide a swivel handle of the character described which can be detachably and interchangeably connected to any one of a plurality of sockets or extension bars in such a manner as to form a unit of a kit or wrench set comprising a plurality of various sized sockets and extension bars adapted to be used with a common ratchet wrench.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a swivel handle which is simple in construction and operation, and which embodies means for temporarily and detachlably locking itself to a socket or extension For a full-understanding of the invention reference is to be had to the following descriptlon and accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a-swivel hand e embodying the invention, showing the same applied to an extension bar, the extension bar being shown partly in section, and a ratchet wrench being shown as applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the swivel handle showing the same applied directly to a socket.

Fig. 3 is a detached bottom plan view of the swivel handle.

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 1.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to 1n the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawing by the same reference characters.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the numeral 1 designates a tubular wrench socket which is polygonal in cross section and comprises the body portion 1 adapted to fit over a nut or bolt head, and a reduced shank 1 which is adapted to fit into either a ratchet wrench A or the enlarged end 2 of an extension bar 2, which is also tubular and polygonal in cross section.

The ratchet wrench A is of a conventional construction and comprises a circular ratchet block 3 which is provided with a peripheral groove 4 in the base of which are formed a plurality of ratchet teeth 5. A polygonal opening 6 is formed centrally of said ratchet block and is adapted to receive either the reduced shank 1 of the ratchet 1, or the ex-. tension bar 2. If the nut or bolt to be operated upon is easily accessible and in an open place the ratchet wrench is applied directly to the shank of the socket, but where the nut is difiicultly accessible or closely surrounded by other parts the shank 1 of the socket 1 is fitted into theenlarged end 2 of the extension bar 2 and the ratchet-wrench applied to the extension bar 2 to rotate the socket 1. The shank 1 of the socket is of the same polygonal cross section and size as the body of the extension bar 2, and both the shank 1 of the socket 1 and body of the extension bar are of the same polygonal cross The outer end 7 of the rod is tied to the in-' termediate portion thereof on the opposite side of the ratchet block by a plurality of wrappings 011 a tie wire 10 to prevent the handle from becoming disengaged from the ratchet block. The rod 7 is formed of a spring material so that the inherent resiliency of the rod will maintain the pawl 9 in a yielding engagement wlth the ratchet teeth 5. The ratchet wrench is operated in the usual manner by oscillating the handle, the pawl 9 slipping over the teeth 5 upon oscillation of the handle in one direction, and positively engaging the teeth to rotate the ratchet block upon oscillation in the opposite direction.

The swivel handle B constructed in accordance with the invention is adapted to be detachably and interchangeably connected with the upper end of the extension bar 2 or the shank l 'of the socket 1. This handle B comprises a shank 15 which is polygonal in cross section and slightly smaller than the internal dimensions of the extension bar 2 and shank of the socket 1, said shank 15 being adapted to loosely fit into either the upper end of the extension bar, as shown in Fig. 1, or into the shank of the socket 1, as "shown in Fig. 2. One end of this shank 15 is provided with an integral reduced cylindrical swivel stem 16 which is adapted to loosely fit into the bore 17 of the neck portion 18 of a circular handle base plate 19, a loosely rotatable washer 20 being interposed between the lower end of said neck portion and the shoulder 15 formed by the shank 15 of the swivel stem. The upper end of the swivel stem 16 is further reduced at 21 to receive a washer 22, which bears against the inside of the base plate 19, the extremity of said reduced portion 21 being upset at 23 to positively secure the swivel stem 16 to the base plate 19. The periphery of the base plate 19 is provided with an upturned annular flange 241 to form a cup into which is adapted to be fitted the hand block 25, which may be formed of any suitable material, such as wood, and is secured to the base plate 19by suitable fastening members, such as the screws 26. The hand block 25 is provided on its inner side with a central recess 25 to form a clearance space for the washer 22 and upset end of the swivel stem 16. From the foregoing it will be obvious that the base plate 19 is freely rotatable upon the swivel stem 16, and the stem 16 rotatable in the base plate 19.

In the operation of the device the shank 15 of the handle is inserted into either the extension bar 2 as shown'by Fig. 1, or into the shank of the socket 1 as indicated by Fig. 2, whichever is desirable, and the ratchet wrench A applied in the pro er manner to rotate the socket 1. The swivel handle B is grasped by one hand of the operator and the ratchet wrench operated with the other hand, and the swivel stem 16 bemg rotatable it will be obvious that the swivel stem will rotate with the extension bar 2 or socket 1, while the hand block 25 will remain stationary in the hand of the operator. Any desired pressure may be maintained on the hand block 25 to hold the socket upon the nut being operated u on, and to steady the socket or extension ar. The washer 20 is adapted to overlap and bear upon the edge of the extension bar or socket to provide a bearing for the neck portion 18 of the baseplate 19 and to limit the extent to which the shank 15 is inserted into the extension bar or socket.

To detachably lock the swivel handle to the socket or extension bar, the shank 15 may be provided with a friction ball 27 mounted in a transverse opening 28 in the shank 15 and adapted to be partially projected from said openlng by a coil spring 29, the edges of the opening 28 being inturned at 30 to prevent the ball from becoming entirely disengaged from said opening. When the shank 15 is inserted into the socket or extension bar the ball 27 will be forced into a frictional engagement with the inner wall of the socket or extension bar so that the handle B is detachably secured in position. If desired this locking action can be enhanced by forming a recess 31 in the socket or extension bar adapted to receive the ball 27 as indicated by Fig. 2. The handle can be easily applied by a mere forcible ush thereon to insert the shank 15, the bal retracting against the spring 29, and the handle can be removedby a forcible pull thereon. However, accidental detachment or falling out of the handle B would be prevented, and this is especially desirable in overhead work.

With this construction it will be manifest that the strain of holding the socket and extension bar upon a nut is relieved from the hand operating the ratchet wrench, which is an especially desirable feature in overhead or other unusually difiicult work. Further, the swivel handle allows the extension bar to be steadied and prevented from wabbling when the ratchet wrench is necessarily a considerable distance from the nut or bolt being operated upon. The swivel handle is interchangeable with either the extension bar or the socket and can be adapted for use in common with a plurality of various sized sockets, and lengths of extension bars such as are incident to tool kits or wrench sets without modification of either the sockets or extension bars.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1.. The combination with a wrench socket formed with an axially disposed polygonal neck, of a polygonal shank fitted remov-ably on the neck and interlocking therewith,said shank being formed with an axial stem, a base plate rotatable on the stem, a hand block applied to the base plate and arranged co-axially with respect to the stem and shank, means for rotating the socket, and a washer member arranged at the upper end of the shank and carried thereby, said washer member extending from the shank so as to obtain a thrust bearing on the neck of the socket.

2. The combination with a wrench socket formed with a polygonal neck, of a polygonal shank fitted removably on the neck and interlocking therewith, said shank being formed with an axial stem having a shoulder at the end thereof, a base plate rotatable on the stem, a washer carried by the stem and confined thereon between the base plate and the shoulder and extending beyond the shank so as to engage and obtain a thrust bearing upon the neck of the socket, a hand block applied to the base plate, and means for rotating the socket.

3. The combination with a wrench socket formed with a polygonal neck, of an extension bar constructed at one end to engage and interlock with the polygonal neck and having a polygonal opening in the other end of the same size and shape as the polygonal neck, a shank fitted in said polygonal opening of the extension bar and formed with an axial stem, a base plate rotatable on the stem, a hand block aplplied to the base plate and arranged coaxial y with respect to the shank and stem, and means for rotating the socket.

4. The combination with a wrench socket, of a polygonal shank formed with a reduced and axially disposed stem and provided at the end of the stem with a shoulder, a base plate rotatable on the stem, a washer fitted on the stem and confined thereon between the base plate and the shoulder and extending beyond the shank, and a'hand block applied to the base plate.

WILLIAM BARNES. 

